Eleven-year temporal trends of clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for acute coronary syndrome in the Shinken database.

Despite the increasing incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Japan, its prognosis has improved. However, there is a paucity of longitudinal registry data providing trends of in-hospital care and prognosis of ACS in Japan. ACS patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) included in the Shinken Database 2004-2014 were divided into two groups according to admission year (2004-2009, n = 390; 2010-2014, n = 328). Patient characteristics, lesion/procedure characteristics, medications at discharge, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), target lesion revascularization (TLR), re-PCI to new lesion, and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) within 2 years after discharge were compared between the groups. Prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and dual antiplatelet/statin prescription increased significantly between periods. Usage of second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) increased markedly between the two periods (2.6, 66.8%), while those of bare metal stents (64.4, 26.5%) and first-generation DES (25.6, 1.5%) decreased (all, p < 0.01). Two-year event-free survival rate increased for all-cause mortality (94.6-98.3%, p = 0.01), TLR (79.4-96.1%, p < 0.01), and re-PCI to new lesion (87.3-95.1%, p < 0.01). There were no significant differences in cardiovascular death, AMI, or CABG between the two periods. The event-free rates for TLR and re-PCI to new lesion in ACS patients have increased over the last decade in Japan. These observations should be confirmed in larger, longitudinal, multicenter registries.

Predictors of International Normalized Ratio Variability in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Under Warfarin Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Variability in the international normalized ratio (INR) of prothrombin time has been suggested to be related to outcome in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) under warfarin therapy, but its determinants remain unclear.Methods and Results:The study population consisted of 626 AF patients under warfarin therapy in the Shinken Database (n=22,230). INR variability was calculated by Fihn's method. Determinants of high log INR variability (defined as over mean+standard deviation) were determined by logistic regression analyses. Symptomatic heart failure (odds ratio [OR] 3.974, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.510-6.292), older age (≥75 years old; OR 2.984, 95% CI 1.844-4.826) and severe renal dysfunction (eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m2; OR 3.918, 95% CI 1.742-8.813) were identified as independent predictors of high INR variability on multivariate logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The determinants of INR variability in AF patients under warfarin therapy could assist Japanese clinicians in identifying patients likely to show unstable warfarin control irrespective of the definition of the target INR range.

Successful treatment with ivabradine for haemodynamically unstable junctional ectopic tachycardia occurring early after ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) is a relatively uncommon arrhythmia predominantly observed in infancy, often occurring after congenital heart surgery. Although JET is rare in adults, it can occur in the presence of myocardial ischaemia. We describe a woman in her early 70s who presented with multivessel ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention on left anterior descending artery and right coronary artery. She developed JET on the second day, resulting in haemodynamic compromise. Despite initial treatment attempts including amiodarone and beta-blocking agents proving insufficient in controlling JET, we successfully managed by administering ivabradine. Subsequently, she was discharged with recovered cardiac function without recurrence of JET. JET often proves refractory to multiple antiarrhythmic agents and can lead to unfavourable outcomes. Several case reports have demonstrated the effectiveness of ivabradine in treating JET during infancy, which can also be an effective therapeutic option for adult without adversely affecting haemodynamics.

Sex Differences in Bleeding Risk Associated With Antithrombotic Therapy Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: Antithrombotic therapy is crucial for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but women with CVD may face increased bleeding complications post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) under antithrombotic therapy. However, women are often underrepresented in clinical trials in this field, so evidence for sex-specific recommendations is lacking. Methods and Results: A search on PubMed was conducted for English-language articles addressing bleeding complications and antithrombotic therapy in women. Despite women potentially showing higher baseline platelet responsiveness than men, the clinical implications remain unclear. Concerning antiplatelet therapy post-PCI, although women have an elevated bleeding risk in the acute phase, no sex differences were observed in the chronic phase. However, women require specific considerations for factors such as age, renal function, and weight when determining the dose and duration of antiplatelet therapy. Regarding anticoagulation post-PCI, direct oral anticoagulants may pose a lower bleeding risk in women compared with warfarin. Concerning triple antithrombotic therapy (TAT) post-PCI for patients with atrial fibrillation, there is a lack of evidence on whether sex differences should be considered in the duration and regimen of TAT. Conclusions: Recent findings on sex differences in post-PCI bleeding complications did not provide enough evidence to recommend specific therapies for women. Further studies are needed to address this gap and recommend optimal antithrombotic therapy post-PCI for women.